


Stuck in the Middle with You

by InsanelyWriteful



Category: Blood and Chocolate (2007), Charlie Countryman (2013), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom
Genre: Aiden is sassy, BAMF Aiden Galvin, BAMF Nigel, Cuddling, Flirting, Isolation, M/M, Nigel curses a lot, Nigel has a pottymouth, Snuggling, Social Commentary, Zombies, and there was only one blanket, lots of flirting, mystery solved, references, so many references, stuck together, where's all the toilet paper?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:21:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23407456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsanelyWriteful/pseuds/InsanelyWriteful
Summary: With the zombie pandemic in full swing, Nigel flings himself into the fray on the hunt for groceries. Don't even get him started on trying to find that most-sought-after, priceless item of all items: toilet paper. As far as the world's concerned, that doesn't exist anymore. With the world going to hell, Nigel finds himself trapped with a strange man named Aiden Galvin. But, hey, there are worse fates than being stuck with a hot piece of tail, right?
Relationships: Aiden (Blood and Chocolate)/Nigel (Charlie Countryman), ChocolateDogs
Comments: 16
Kudos: 17
Collections: Lock Down Fest





	Stuck in the Middle with You

**Author's Note:**

> Phew, hello, everyone! This has certainly been a rough time and my heart goes out to everyone during this time of struggle. I hope everyone stays safe and happy! I'm a retail worker when not doing my fan thing and, I gotta tell ya, it's been hell. Severe pushing from managers to move it, move it. Customers upset about everything being gone from people hoarding. Customers also upset at items needing to be limited so everyone has a chance. *sigh* Nigel made me laugh and feel better about all the craziness. And I hope this story can help other people feel better, too. <3

Nigel glared at everyone he passed by as he made his way down the sidewalk to the nearest grocery store for a supply run. He wouldn’t even _need_ to be making a supply run if it weren’t for all the lousy fucks who’d hoarded everything before shit actually got bad. Fuck him for wanting groceries, right? Selfish pricks had set him and plenty of his neighbors way back, forcing them to go out more than they should just to see if a truck had managed to get to the store for restocking. For weeks, it’d been looking pretty damn bleak. The last truck had been swarmed and never made it. Poor bastard deserved better for sticking his neck out like that. Probably wasn’t even getting decent pay either.

Nigel could admit that his business could be described as shady at best, but at least he damn well paid his people right. And he’d fuckin’ closed down shop and sent ‘em home, too. He’d had Darko bring the guns out to his neighborhood for a bargain. What would a storehouse full of guns do for him if all his customers were dead anyway? At least that way he was creating gratitude and customer loyalty if any of ‘em survived.

And, well, he also had to admit that drugs were selling phenomenally well what with everyone looking to forget their troubles. A part of him had wanted to stop the drug side of things altogether so everyone could get cleaned up and lucid and be able to defend themselves better . . . but, if someone wanted to go out happy or out of their heads, who was he to deny them one last good time? He’d never been a saint, so there wasn’t much point in changing things now.

At that moment, someone staggered into Nigel’s path out of an alleyway, nearly running into him. Quick as a flash, he pulled out his gun and aimed it right at the guy’s head.

“Back off! Back the fuck off!” He hissed, finger ready on the trigger.

The man swayed, blinking at him, and Nigel relaxed, realizing it was just some stupid guy drunk off his tits. “Hey, man, what’s your problem?”

Nigel shook his head and put his gun down, taking a few steps back. It didn’t hurt to be cautious, after all. “Don’t you got a better place to be?”

The man snorted. “You nooot the b-boss a me.”

When he staggered into Nigel’s space again, he brought his gun back up. “I’ll be the end of you if you don’t stop getting in my space.”

The man bristled, flinging his arm around. “You don’t own the sidewalk, asshole!”

_I might as well,_ Nigel thought, narrowing his eyes. He sidestepped around the asshole, gun trained on him. “Respect the personal bubble!”

“Dunno why you’rre so uptight,” he slurred, angrily turning around to follow Nigel’s path and almost fell over. “Zombies aren’t even that baaaad. Me and my friends were out all night and we only saw, like, five. Six, tops.”

Nigel froze, dumbfounded. “Not that bad? Are you fuckin’ stupid? Have you ever seen a zombie movie ever? In your whole life?”

The dumbass snorted. “This ain’t a movie, paaal. Govern . . . ment’s been makin’ the rounds. Zombies ain’t _shit.”_

“I ain’t your pal, _friend,”_ Nigel growled. “And do you even watch the news? The government ain’t handling this for shit. First off, they didn’t have any kind of good border control. Secondly, they were waaay too fuckin’ casual about the infection in the first place. We shoulda been shut down right from the first string of cases and _maaaybe_ gotten everything handled when it was manageable! Now, we’re overrun all over, those jackasses in charge gotta have a few more meetings to decide what to do about all this, and there’s still assholes like you roaming around who think this ain’t a big deal. But, yeah, go out and have a few more rounds. Get bit and take out your whole family who didn’t deserve to have your inconsiderate ass coming home all infected, ready for some lunch.”

“Oh, get fucked!” He snapped.

“Not by you,” Nigel grinned, nostrils flaring. “Go on and find your girlfriend. If she’s half as stupid as you, she’ll already be a zombie and bite your dick off. It’d do the population a few favors.”

“You son of a—”

“I still have a gun on you, genius,” Nigel reminded him, giving it a little shake.

The man cursed under his breath, turned and started walking away. Nigel waited a bit before he put his gun up and kept moving.

He hurried his way down to the convenience store. It was the closest food place to him before the main grocery store and he figured he’d try his luck.

The bell rang on his way in and all eyes zeroed in on him. He put his hand up, letting everyone know he was cool. The mood remained tense, but in the times they were living in that was fair. He put his hands in his pockets and glanced around.

It was pretty fuckin’ bare.

What’s worse, prices were definitely through the roof. His lip curled, unimpressed. Price gouging was illegal, but that never stopped anyone, did it? At least he had the decency to try to help his community out while times were tough, legal or not.

There were around five other people in the shop aside from himself and the clerk as far as he could tell. Some woman checking out. A man picking out things on the other side of the shop. An older man looking through the newspaper rack. A guy looking through the wrapped up baked goods. And the guy closest to him browsing the shelves. Thus far, they weren’t having any problems. He was keeping his distance and Nigel liked that in people nowadays.

Still, it was hard to keep his eyes off him what with his _bright red jacket._

_Zombies will see you for miles, dumbass,_ he huffed to himself.

Also, the guy was being hella shifty. He’d looked dismayed the second Nigel had walked in. And he kept sneaking glances at him. Did he know him or something?

“Hey—”

“ZOMBIES!!!” Came a hoarse cry from outside. “A whole wave! RUN!”

“Shit!” Nigel cursed as he tore out of the shop to see people booking it down the street with zombies hot on their heels.

His eyes widened. A wave certainly described what he was looking at. There was _dozens_ of the undead pricks shuffle-running in a pack. Of course. Of course it was one of the rare times he needed to go out for supplies.

“Aw fucking hell!” Nigel swore as group of zombies split off towards him.

He drew out his gun and took a couple of shots, picking off two and making one stagger backwards. Hey, he was no slouch with a gun. Yeeeaaarrrrs of practice.

But, it wasn’t the time for trick shots or showing off. No, he needed to find a good place to hunker down. And quick. Things were happening fast. A mother running, practically dragging her screaming daughter along in a panic. The two guys from the shop burst out, shifty Red Jacket among them.

It all happened so fast that Nigel was momentarily stunned. Shop guy ran past Red Jacket, pushing him out of the way, making him lose his footing. Red hit the pavement, but Nigel’s jaw dropped as Shop Guy crossed paths with mother and daughter and fucked their shit up, too. Seriously?! He didn’t need to sacrifice half the city just to get away!

Hot fury raced up the sides of Nigel’s face, but he kept it at bay. He didn’t have time to help both fallen parties as the zombies invaded the area. It was an easy choice in his mind as he raised his gun and popped off the zombies that were leaping through the air to jump the little girl. It gave them enough time to regroup and starting running again. He glanced over his shoulder, honestly surprised to see that Red was grappling with a zombie, managing to hold his own. Nigel was about to shoot the zombie off him when he pulled out a knife and stabbed it in the head ‘til its brain matter leaked out the side causing it to fall over, dead.

Nigel was impressed and would have whistled if not for the fact that the zombies were pressing in. He took a few hopping steps out of range, keeping them in his sights. It wasn’t the worst thing ever. All he needed to do was keep his head, keep his pace, and make his way up the street ‘til he got back home. Easy peasy.

More screams rang throughout the block, making Nigel jerk his head to look where the survivors had been running.

“Motherfucking shit fuck! _FUCK!”_ Nigel cursed up a storm as another wave of zombies swarmed from the other direction, blocking them all in. But, at the very least, he was relieved to see momma and baby girl slipping into a building and locking up. The other poor bastards getting munched on weren’t so lucky. And, to make things worse, that asshole Shop Guy was back. He flew down the street, absolutely freaking the fuck out.

Nigel gritted his teeth and took another shot when a zombie got too close for comfort. This was a bad situation. A whole-ass horde was bearing down on them. And Nigel definitely didn’t have enough bullets for everybody. They just needed some way to create an opening or—

“This way!” Nigel jerked his head around at Red shouting, gesturing him to follow.

He didn’t think twice, he just followed Red’s lead. Red made his way to the other side of the street and slashed his knife at a zombie’s face who’d been ready for a snack. Nigel came up behind him and pistol-whipped another zombie who was closing in. Red flashed him a smile of thanks briefly before slamming all his weight against a heavy door. He slammed into it one more time before whatever was behind it gave way, creating an opening. Red scampered in and Nigel turned around to back inside, kicking a zombie away who was trying to make a move on him.

“Hey! Let me in! Help!”

Nigel sneered as Shop Guy ran to him.

“Fuck that.” Nigel shot him in the head.

Then he retreated inside and held the door closed. He was further surprised to see how useful Red was proving to be as he had boards and nails on hand and a dresser dragged over. As soon as Nigel came through, he put a board up, pulled a nail out of his mouth and started hammering. Nigel lowered himself down to give him room and grunted at the sudden impact the zombies made. Red was briefly thrown off his hammering but kept going. In no time at all the door was barricaded and they had the dresser pushed fully in front of it.

Nigel didn’t waste any time with chit-chat as he made his way into the room and scanned the area. Securing the door would do them fuck all good if there was a back way or some other opening. He could see that the place was old and abandoned with broken furniture and sheets strewn about. The windows had long since been barricaded by whoever had owned the place before. Mostly one open room with the entry hallway. He headed to the doors and checked inside. First was a bathroom with no windows. Second, a bedroom with boarded windows. Nigel sighed, hearing the sound of zombies knocking against that side, too. So . . . surrounded with no way out. But, safe, for the moment.

He made his way back into the main room and sighed, brushing a hand through his bangs, letting the strands slip through his fingers into his face. He caught movement out of his peripherals and glanced over to see Red bouncing on his heels, hands in his pockets, staring at him again.

Nigel huffed, brow furrowing. “Hey, what’s your problem?”

Red gave him a confused look.

“You keep staring at me.”

He puckered his lips. “Just curious about who I’ve trapped myself with.”

“Nah, it’s not just that. Earlier, too.”

Red tilted his head, managing to look even more confused.

“In the store,” Nigel elaborated. “You were givin’ me funny looks.”

“Oh,” he said softly with a sheepish grin. _“That.”_

“Yeah, _that._ What was that all about?”

“Weeellll,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I was gonna rob the place.”

Nigel blinked, shocked. “Wha?”

“Yeaaaah. And then you walked in all of a sudden and I got nervous. And, before you judge me, hear me out!” Red shot off. “Those prices were outrageous! Like, was I the one robbing people or was he???”

“You, by the sounds of it, angelface,” he said, amused.

It was Red’s turn to pause and blink. “Angelface?”

“Yeah, face of an angel.” Nigel nodded, plopping into a chair, dust pluming up around him. “With the intentions of a little devil, it seems.” A corner of mouth kicked up. “And, yeah, those prices were fuckin’ bonkers.”

Red eyed him, but visibly relaxed as he went to sit on the couch across from Nigel, dropping his backpack in the space next to him. He tilted his head again, almost as if he were trying to figure Nigel out.

“You’re hard to read,” he came to a conclusion before Nigel could call him out for staring again.

“You, too,” Nigel tossed back. “You don’t exactly look like the sort of person to case a joint.”

“Normally, I’m not.” He shrugged.

Nigel nodded, deciding to switch topics. “Why didn’t you stay in the convenience store?”

“Too many big glass windows. And, sure, they’re boarded up; but when those boards fall under all that pressure from zombies pounding at it, that’s a lot of open space to manage with a whole horde of zombies crawling through. Not to mention that big glass door with no boards. _That’s_ a problem.”

Nigel’s brows shot up, surprised that Red had thought things through that much.

“That, plus,” Red grinned and pulled his backpack over, unzipping it to reveal the contents. “I really did rob the place at the last second.”

Nigel smiled at the bag full of candy and chips squished inside. “So, when you making your way up to the big times? Like candy stores.”

“Ha, ha,” he rolled his eyes but was no less amused than before. “I was gonna try to swipe the donuts a little farther away, but I think the guy over that way would’ve bitten my head off if I tried and I just didn’t have time for a stupid fight like that.”

“I would’ve shared the donuts with you.” He didn’t know where _that_ had come from. Sometimes his mouth just ran away with him. Saying mushy stuff to a pretty face without his permission.

“Really?”

“No,” Nigel amended, being honest. “I probably would’ve shot you and taken the donuts for myself.”

Red hesitated for only a moment. “Fair. I mean, they’re donuts, after all.”

“Exactly,” he let out a chuckle. “So, how are you enjoying your new life of crime?”

“I didn’t have much time to process it before I had to go all Leon Kennedy on those zombies.”

Nigel choked, a laugh bursting out of him. “Fuck you if you think your scrawny ass got _anything_ on Leon Scott Kennedy!”

“Hey, I’ve got some moves!” he pouted before melting back into a warm smile. “Resident Evil? I see that you’re a man of culture~”

“Video games are fuckin’ awesome.” Nigel could admit a certain shot of glee raced through him to know he was stuck with someone who at least shared his interests.

“Yeah,” Red said, morosely. “If only it could have stayed a video game.”

Nigel nodded. “The games were a lot more fun. And, you know, I always thought all those people in the games and movies were stupid. But, Jesus Christ, real people are so much more fuckin’ stupid than them. I take back every bad thing I ever said about fictional people. They kept their shit together waaaay better.”

“You got that right,” he let out a breath before looking back at him. “And, uh, thanks for having my back out there.”

“No problem.” He shrugged. “That guy who knocked you and the girls over was an asshole.”

Red bit his lip, letting it pop out from between his teeth. “I . . . don’t suppose I’m gonna have to worry about him again.”

Nigel stiffened, hearing the implication in Red’s tone. But, when he locked eyes with him, he looked nothing but grateful. Well, that and maybe a bit wary. “No. You won’t.” He slipped his shirt over his gun holster, trying to be less of a threat to the little mouse.

A mouse who apparently was pretty handy with a knife, Nigel reminded himself.

“What’s your name, anyway?” he asked, leaning his arms on his knees.

“Aiden,” he answered, readily. “Aiden Galvin. You?”

“Nigel. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of me,” he leaned back. “But, then again, I am pretty new to the area. Setting up shop, as it were.”

“The only Nigel I know is Nigel Thornberry. And your accent’s off from his.”

“Cheeky brat,” he grinned, further delighted by Aiden’s continued knowledge of good media.

They settled into a comfortable silence then that was only broken up by the gentle sound of zombies thumping against the walls. It was a strange feeling. Being so at ease with someone despite all the insane shit going on. Especially considering Nigel’s short temper with most people and situations that didn’t go the way he wanted. Under normal circumstances, Nigel would be pacing and snapping at anyone trying to talk to him while he got a hold of . . .

“Darko!” he exclaimed, suddenly, startling Aiden who jumped in his seat.

“What’s up?” he asked while Nigel pulled out his cellphone.

“I got a friend who can get us out of this.” Nigel stood up and began to pace, waiting for the call to go through. He cursed and kicked at some broken wood on the floor when it went to voicemail. “Darko, where the fuck are you? Zombies got me pinned in. I need back up.” Then he spouted off the address and ended the call with an angry huff.

He swiped angrily to his contacts to pick someone else who might be able to get ahold of Darko or do something useful. As he did, he looked at Aiden still loafing around and snapped. “Don’t you got anybody you can call to help us out?”

Well. So much for keeping his cool.

Aiden lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug, completely at ease despite Nigel’s boiling temper. “I don’t have anybody to call.”

Nigel stopped pacing and frowned, his anger going back down to a simmer. When he got voicemail again he quickly muttered out the situation and sent a text to everybody. He grumbled to himself as a couple of his boys sent him messages. Seemed the zombie problem was more widespread than he’d thought. Had to be a couple of blocks at least if they were pinned down, too.

Nigel went online to check the news, glancing at Aiden out of the corner of his eye a couple of times. “Nobody? Really?”

He nodded and yawned as he reached for his bag, dumping the food he’d swiped on the side table next to him. He pulled out a book and a case. “I mean, I could try my publisher, but I think he’d be more thrilled if I died so he doesn’t have to pay me. _Though,”_ he pulled out a pencil from the case and tapped his lip in thought. “If I die, my books’ll go to the state, so I suppose it’s a tossup whether he’d help me or not. Depends on how much he’d have to cover his own ass. And, I gotta tell ya, there are a lot of ass-biters out there.” He gestured outside before opening his book.

The news wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t know. Larger than normal zombie outbreak on the shitty side of town. Officials gathering to figure out how to contain the situation.

“Shit,” he muttered as he put his phone away and ruffled his hair.

He sat down in his claimed spot and got interested in what Aiden was doing in his book. He angled his head, seeing the pencil move in patterns, making . . . sketchings?

“You an artist?” Nigel asked, knowing he was asking for trouble. He’d always had a thing for artists. Darko often joked about how he was like a daughter whose father warned her off from falling for the drummer in the band.

“I’m a graphic novelist.”

“Graphic novelist?” he furrowed his brow in thought. “You mean like—”

Aiden pulled a sour face, pencil stopping. “Comic books. Yeah, I draw comic books,” He looked him in the eye, a frown pulling his red lips taut. “Listen, I prefer to call them graphic novels. It takes a lot of work to be taken seriously, you know. Most people hear “comic book artist” and jump straight to me being a loser wasting his time. I’ve worked too damn hard for my life to be somebody’s joke.”

He put his hands up. “I ain’t laughing, gorgeous. Art takes a lot of talent and practice. I respect the hell out of artists. All kinds.”

He smiled, visibly relaxing. “That’s really cool of you, Nigel.” He shifted in his spot, slouching. Readjusted his book and started sketching away again. “Anyway, that’s what I do, right? Well, comic books aren’t exactly selling super well right now. I don’t really have time to focus on finishing a new book what with the impeding end of the world. Aaaannnddd, it doesn’t seem like too many people feel safe enough to chill with a book, either. So, money’s getting low and my rent is due. Not only did my landlord not give me an extension the son of a bitch raised the price because he felt it was more of a liability to have so many people around and if he did have tenants he wanted to get protection and shelter money from them. With the way my job was going, there was no way I could afford it. Bam, I’m out on the streets with zombies on the loose and I gotta figure things out as I go along.”

Nigel fists clenched at the idea of some dirtbag throwing people out during the fuckin’ zombie pandemic. “What the fuck? That’s the shittiest thing I’ve heard in a long time! Are people seriously doing that??? Right now? As if things aren’t fucked enough as it is! Doing that is only going to make things worse!” He curled his lip, disgusted. “No wonder there’s so many zombies all of a sudden. Let’s drag those landlords’ sorry asses out and see how well they do! Money’ll do ‘em real good then. Stupid fucks.” He crossed his arms, pissed off.

Aiden nodded as he drew, in full agreement.

He jerked his chin at Aiden. “Is that how you knew about this place?”

“Mmhmm,” he answered, absorbed in his work. “I’ve been squatting for a while. There’s loads of abandoned places all over the city. I set up in here today. Patched up a few loose spots. Made sure I couldn’t be snuck up on by zombies. Got some heavy stuff by the door so I could be ready to secure myself for the night. Only problem was food. And I didn’t get that super solved.” He paused and looked at him. “How long do you think we’ll be stuck like this?”

Nigel frowned. “I’m hoping only a few hours. Maybe overnight. But, with the size of that horde?” he sighed. “It could be a lot longer.”

Aiden sighed as well. “I was afraid of that. I’m not sure I’m stocked up for “a lot longer.””

“I can see that. But, hey, if worse comes to worse, I can just shoot you and eat you. You look sweet enough.” He grinned, helpless to stop his flirting. It was incredible how much Aiden kept making him feel calm and at ease.

“Getting a leg up on the zombies?” He raised a brow at him. “Maybe I’ll slit your throat in your sleep before you can shoot me~ But, then again, you look too old and dried up to eat!”

“Hey!” Nigel squawked, offended.

Aiden flashed him a grin, completely unrepentant.

Nigel made a “tch” noise and pulled out his phone, checking through his messages again. Then he checked the news again.

“You’ll drive yourself crazy doing that.”

“What?” Nigel asked, absently scrolling.

“Constantly checking for updates. Sometimes you just gotta chill and think about something else for a while.”

He snorted, thinking about the constant thudding noise echoing around them. “Kinda hard to think about other things right now, gorgeous.”

“Maybe I can help with that,” Aiden suggested as he snapped his book closed. He folded his hands together over his abdomen and took in their surroundings. “I spy with my little eye--”

Nigel tossed his head back and groaned. _“Nooo.”_

“Sommmething . . . blue!” There was an addictive warmth in the other man’s face that kept capturing Nigel’s attention.

He sucked at his teeth. “I’m not playing some baby game. I ain’t a child.”

There went that one shoulder shrug again. “If you can’t do it . . .”

Amber eyes narrowed dangerously. “I don’t like mind games, Aiden.” Then he scanned the room, looking for anything blue. “And I _can_ do it.”

“Guess until you give up,” he said, smugly.

Nigel gritted his teeth, trying to remember everything Aiden had looked at. He twisted in his chair. Damn, there were more blue things in the room than he’d thought.

“That broken cup on the shelf over there?”

“No.”

“That scrap of curtain?”

“No~”

“Those speckles on the counter?”

“No,” he beamed.

Nigel huffed, tapping his finger against his phone. “That shirt that guy has on in the cracked photo on the wall?”

Aiden shook his head, face filled with delight as his curls bounced around his face playfully.

His eyes landed on Aiden’s jeans. Could it really be that easy . . .?

“Those pants you got on?” he asked with a jut of his chin.

“Nooope~” Aiden sing-songed, looking far too pleased with himself.

Nigel’s mouth twisted, then he spotted the backpack sitting next to him. “That design on your bag?”

Aiden looked taken aback as he followed Nigel’s gaze, angling over his bag and turning it to get a look at what he meant. “Wow, I didn’t even know that was there!”

Nigel grunted, annoyed. Then, he leaned forward, catching Aiden’s gaze and smirked. “Your pretty, pretty blue eyes,” he whispered as he tilted his head, strands of hair falling in his face.

“Ooo, observant _and_ sexy,” Aiden breathed. Then, the fucking minx smirked right back at him! “But, no~”

He tossed his hands up in exasperation and growled. “Then what the fuck is it?!”

Aiden burst into laughter, completely unfazed by Nigel’s displeasure. “Your phone case~” he answered, grinning so hard it looked like his face might split.

Nigel’s eyes widened as he looked down at his phone case, feeling absolutely betrayed. And, yes, yes it was. Dark blue glinting up at him. Mocking him.

He groaned and tossed it on the wobbly side table. _“Ugh,_ I don’t even wanna look at the damn thing now!”

He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. When he opened them again he was greeted with the sight of Aiden shooting him an all-too-pleased look. It had hints of “told you so” that Nigel did not care for. It took him a second before he realized Aiden was looking at him like that because of what he’d just said.

Nigel locked onto him, unimpressed. “You think you’re real smart, don’t you.”

“I have my moments~” He poked his tongue out and it just made Nigel want to lunge over and take a nip at it. Vexing vixen!

“All right~ Your turn now.”

Nigel wanted to ignore him or cling to his annoyance, but Aiden’s eagerness was hard to deny. The guy had a very charming way about him. Just frustrating enough to be endearing.

“I spy,” he began, shaking off the childish feeling creeping up on him, determined to have a fun time. “Something . . . red.”

“My jacket,” Aiden answered, automatically.

He burst into laughter at Nigel’s shocked face. He quickly schooled his features into a fierce glare. That, apparently, had all the murderous quality of a puppy nipping at Aiden’s heels if his continued glee had anything to say about it.

Nigel eyed him, suspicious. “I spy . . . something brown.”

“The couch,” Aiden piped up. “And it’s more of a murky red-violet, honestly. Underneath all the dust and dirt.”

“I _spy,”_ he gritted out through his teeth. “Something _else_ red.”

“My bag,” Aiden spouted off the answer as if it were the most simple thing he’d ever been asked to do.

“Okay!” Nigel snapped, stomping his foot down. “How the _fuck_ are you doing that?!”

And _why_ the fuck was Aiden not intimidated by him? And why was he so okay with that???

He chuckled and gestured to himself, finger moving in a circular pattern, framing his face. “You’re very expressive.” Then, he pointed at his eyes. “Your eyes scan everything, take it all in. Like you’re filing away information for later. It’s very intense.” At Nigel’s frown, Aiden hurried on to correct himself. “It’s not a bad thing! It’s just that I can see when you spot something you like.” He bit his lip, trying to fight a smile as a light blush stole across his cheeks. “Kind of like how you look at me sometimes.”

Nigel felt a warm smile tug at his lips as he held Aiden’s gaze for just a second too long. “I spy something absolutely gorgeous.”

He saw Aiden swallow before he asked, slightly breathless. “Me?”

“Fuck no,” he responded without hesitation. “The cheap, battered rug under our feet. Not everything’s about you, gorgeous.” He winked, making Aiden laugh.

“I spy with my little eye a liar~” he taunted with a smug grin.

“Yeah, yeah, you got me,” Nigel indulged the little minx as he got up. “I need to go take a shit.”

“Where you taking it?”

Nigel looked over his shoulder at Aiden’s stupid grinning face. _“Away.”_

Aiden hummed in acknowledgement as he went back to drawing. Nigel made it halfway to the door and froze. “Aw, shit.”

“I thought that’s what you were going to go do.”

He looked back at him and glared. “I mean: aw, fuck.”

“I’m good for now,” Aiden smiled, glancing at him. “Maybe later.”

Nigel was momentarily stunned by that before he shook it off and simply said: “No toilet paper.”

Aiden shrugged as if to say ‘Well, what did you expect?’

“Not that there would’ve been any around in the first place even if there weren’t any zombies,” he muttered as he went into the bathroom.

“Seriously,” he called out to the main room. “Why the fuck would somebody buy all the toilet paper???”

“No idea,” Aiden called back.

“The infection doesn’t make you shit yourself to death. And once you’re bit, you’re not gonna care about wiping.”

There was a pause between both of them, as if they were sharing the same thought. Then Aiden voiced what they’d both been contemplating. “Do you think zombies poop?”

“I don’t know, but logic makes me think that if something goes in it’s gotta come out, don’t it?” He looked at the toilet. No water, but a hole was a hole. “Toilet paper ain’t gonna protect nobody from a zombie bite. Did I miss something on the news that told everybody toilet paper was the fuckin’ cure-all to getting infected or something?”

He continued his rant. “The guns, I can see. Bullets, duh. Food, yeah. But _toilet paper?_ What the fuck?” He rifled through the cabinets. “If I ever find the fuck who took all the toilet paper, I'm shitting in my hand and throwing it at him.”

He opened the cabinet underneath the sink and froze.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me.”

“What is it?” Aiden asked, noticing the change in his tone.

“I can go to sleep all nice and peaceful now that I know one of life’s greatest mysteries has been solved,” Nigel said as he walked out of the bathroom, toilet paper roll in hand. “There’s a whole jackpot under the sink.”

Aiden’s eyes widened in disbelief. “No.”

Nigel gestured to him with the roll. “I take it this wasn’t your doing?”

He shook his head.

Nigel looked up, closing his eyes. “At least I know one of those goddamn hoarders is dead. Nevermind, today is a good day.” 

“Gonna be the best shit of your life, huh?”

“You got that right. Hell, I’ll use the whole roll if I feel like it,” Nigel shot him a manic grin before retreating into the bathroom.

Aiden called out to him, “Sharing is caring, Nigel!” and Nigel couldn’t stop laughing.

After he finished business with the Browns and used some of the hand sanitizer the previous owner also had tucked away(son of a bitch!), he strolled back into the main room with a yawn. And raised an eyebrow at Aiden. He’d taken his jacket off and tied it around his middle. And was currently up and stretching, showing off a sliver of that very, very fine middle. Soft, kissable skin peeking at him . . .

He shivered and mentally told himself to knock it off. Flirting was one thing, but he didn’t need to be popping a boner over some random stranger. No matter how hot they might be.

Aiden saw him out of the corner of his eye and covered his mouth as he yawned. He smacked his lips. “Sorry.” Another yawn. “It’s getting late.”

Nigel could see that from between the slats in the windows. “Yeah. How well do you think everything’s gonna hold?”

Aiden stretched again and Nigel grunted as his vision devoured more exposed flesh. “Well, I feel like I secured everything pretty well earlier. I _was_ planning to hole up here for a while. But, at the same time, the last owner doesn’t look like he had a good time. So, I’m not sure about any weak spots. But, it’s good as far as I can tell.”

He nodded. “Sounds like us taking watch would be the smart thing to do.”

He got a nod in return.

“I’ll go see if there are any other accommodations.”

With that decided, he went to go investigate the bedroom. And the results weren’t so favorable.

“Okay, listen up, angelface,” he started. “I checked it out and, unfortunately, the bed’s broken. Exposed springs and shit. And,” he further explained, holding up his spoils. “There’s only one blanket.” 

He was just trying to figure out how to subtly suggest cuddling together under the blanket when Aiden waved him off. “You can keep it. I’ll just use my jacket. I’m used to it.”

Nigel went still as he took in the goose bumps breaking out over Aiden’s arms and the resigned nature of his tone. His face must have hardened, expression looking furious, because Aiden’s eyes widened when he looked at him. “Ni—”

“Scoot your ass over, angelface,” he ordered, firmly. Then, he tried to soften the steel of his tone. “You’re not gonna keep that couch all to yourself.”

He scrambled to explain. “That’s not what I—”

“Shut up.” He said, gruffly, planting his ass down next to him.

“No, really, I can sleep in the chair or on the floor or—”

Burning amber eyes snapped to him before Nigel tossed the blanket at Aiden, engulfing him immediately. Before Aiden knew it, Nigel grabbed him and yanked him into his side. _“I said:_ Shut. It.”

A small smile graced Aiden’s lips as he burrowed deeper into the warmth that was Nigel and the blanket surrounding them. “Shutting it.”

Nigel grunted, satisfied.

He especially liked the part where Aiden rested his head on his shoulder.

Aiden yawned again. “I’m tired, but I don’t think I’m actually gonna be able to fall asleep with all these zombies around.”

“Yeah,” Nigel agreed, leaning his head over to bump against Aiden’s. “Me, either.”

“I just feel like they could . . . bust in at any moment . . .” He wiggled, getting more comfortable with a soft sigh.

Nigel nodded as he faded, drifting off to the smell of Aiden. Strangely enough, he smelled like chocolate. Must have eaten some before bed.

It wasn’t long before they both fell asleep against one another, the soft thump of zombies knocking against the walls all around them, serenading them through the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Talk about a wild ride~ And I have more thought out in my head for later~ ;) I hope you enjoyed! <3


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